Arthur Frederick Broadbridge (15 February 1915 – 29 March 2009) was a Canadian diplomat.[1]
Born in Elham, England, Broadbridge's family emigrated to rural Saskatchewan in 1920.[2][3] In 1932 Broadbridge trained for one year before starting to work as a teacher at Bradgate School, Newpark School and Hillside School in Invermay and Rosetown.[2][3] In 1941, at the outbreak of the Second World War, Broadbridge enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and was sent to Vancouver to study radar, at the time a secret technology.[3] As a radar officer, he served in England, Africa, Sicily, Naples, Corsica and Florence.[3]
After being demobilized, Broadbridge returned to Saskatoon and married fellow teacher, Mavis Davies, whom he had been courting before the war.[3] As a veteran he received support to attend the University of Saskatchewan where he obtained a Master of Arts degree in history for his thesis titled The History of Rosetown, 1904–1939.[2][4] He worked briefly as an archivist for the Saskatchewan Archives Board before taking a civil service exam and joining the foreign service in 1949.[2][3] Broadbridge was posted to Chicago, Washington, D.C., Cairo, and Berlin before being appointed concurrently as High Commissioner to Malawi and Zambia then later as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Mozambique.[1][3] His terms for these posts all ended concurrently.[1]
In 1977 Broadbridge retired from foreign service and returned his family to Canada.[3] His wife, who had been ill, died soon after their return.[3]
In his retirement, Broadbridge published two books: The Church of St. Peter, Cobourg, Ontario, 1867–1978, and a memoir, Early Days.[2]
In 1981 he remarried; his second wife was Ada Uren, an old friend who had recently been widowed.[3] Uren died in 2004 and Broadbridge in 2009.[3]
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Rollins Barker |
High Commissioner to Zambia 1973-1976 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Established |
High Commissioner to Malawi 1973-1976 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Established |
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Mozambique 1975-1976 |
Succeeded by |
| International |
|
|---|---|
| National |
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